Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the former speaker, the member for Makin, for the very touching words he said about our great Anzacs.

This year we come together as a nation to honour the Centenary of Anzac and to honour those who have fought for our country in this and in all other conflicts we have had since our nation formed in 1901, to honour the memory of our brave soldiers who paid the ultimate price.

The Anzacs have a sacred place in the hearts of all Australians. It is because of the Anzacs and the soldiers in those other conflicts that I have referred to that we are able to stand here proudly today as one nation united and not divided. Most Australians have a connection to the efforts of our armed forces either through personal experience or family members. It is important that we remember the sacrifices made by these young men and women so that we could remain with our freedom.

In the early hours of Sunday, 25 April 1915, soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on Gallipoli. At the landing, the 16th Battalion was about 1,000 strong. By the evening, despite strong Turkish counter-attacks, the Anzacs were able to hold a narrow triangle of land. By the next morning, more than 1,700 casualties had been evacuated from the area of the Anzac landing. Counterattacks continued for several days, but the Anzacs held firm. In a roll call on 3 May, just a week later, fewer than 300 men called their names. The stalemate persisted for months. The August Offensive was an attempt to break the stalemate but failed, with counterattacks by the Turkish troops.

The battle fought at Lone Pine is remembered for being especially ferocious. Within three days of fighting at Lone Pine, seven Victoria Crosses were awarded. More than 4,500 Australians fought at Lone Pine, and by the battle's end nearly half were killed or wounded.

The Gallipoli campaign has passed into our country's mythology, an example of our courageous spirit. That spirit continues today, and the tradition is carried on by the young school children that flock to our Anzac Day ceremonies each and every year. But this year it was something special.

I want to say a little word on the lone pine. I have had the honour of being gifted five lone pines from a constituent in my electorate. You may be aware that there was a solitary pine tree on the Gallipoli Peninsula which marked the Battle of Lone Pine. The hills around Gallipoli were originally covered with these pines but the Turkish soldiers chopped every one down except one to fortify their trenches. The original lone pine was a sole survivor of a group of trees that had been cut down by the Turkish soldiers. However, this tree was eventually obliterated during a battle. An Australian soldier picked up one of the pinecones and sent it home to his mother. The lone pines you see growing in Australia now are descendants from that cone of the lone pine.

You may be interested to know that you cannot buy lone pines unless you go through the Australian War Memorial. This is why I treasure the five lone pines that have been given to me by a good friend. They are not easy to grow. They will be given mainly to schools in my electorate, but we do need people with green fingers to make sure that they mature into very nice trees.

During the Anzac Day week, thanks to the federal government and the Queensland government, I was able to organise a troop train. We took a heritage steam train—I think the only one in existence in Queensland—out of the museum in Ipswich and Queensland Rail took that train to Winton. Why Winton? Winton was only a small town in 1914—and it is still only a small town—but 600 soldiers came out of the town of Winton in 1914 plus the horses. We did not ship only troops to Gallipoli; our horses went with them and on to France. That is why the train started in Winton.

We laid wreaths at Winton, Longreach, Alpha, Emerald, Blackwater, Rockhampton, Maryborough, Cooroy and finally Brisbane. Everywhere we stopped we laid a wreath. We took our own contingent of horses by truck—they did not come on the train—and we had a re-enactment of the light horse in every town we stopped at.

There were 250 passengers on that train. They thoroughly enjoyed the commemoration of Anzac and the authentic reliving of that troop train that made that journey in 1914. When we stopped in Brisbane the night before Anzac Day people were a little exhausted. I think the average age on the train was 85—I was one of the young ones. They all had a very enjoyable time. They were all keen to get up the next morning and participate in the dawn service and were very proud to march in the Anzac Day celebrations in Brisbane.

The Anzacs are part of our national identity. They represent us to the rest of the world. That is where Australians become Australia. There is a strong belief in mateship, loyalty and trust. It was not only the men who went to war; there were Aboriginals, women, nurses and doctors. Some women were told to stay home and do the knitting but still found ways to get around the system. They came through the backdoor in England and Scotland to look after our wounded troops. Your heart must go out to them in those days. The nurses in the re-enactment were very finely dressed in white and red. They really caught people's eyes when the train stopped at different locations.

We must always remember the Anzacs and every day we must think of them. We will remember them. God rest in peace.

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